Iron Banjo 2017 Homebrew Competition

It’s that time of year again and this year’s IronBanjo will be bigger and better! If you’re a homebrew sorcerer (or sorceress) then this is your chance to show off your skills. This competition is about using select ingredients and brewing a beer with them.

The competition date will be Sunday, March 26th at noon until 4 pm. There will only be 1 round. A panel of bjcp qualified judges and professional brewers will be judging the competition. Beers will be judged based on BJCP 2015 guidelines. The IronBanjo winner will be determined by the judges with influence from a people’s choice vote. The 1st place winner will receive $500. The people’s choice will also win a prize TBD. There can only be one IronBanjo.

The entry fee is $40 and we will provide your malts, hops, and a vial of yeast. The ingredients this year are with a link to some information on them:

You MUST use the ingredients we give you and will be disqualified if you do not use them. No exceptions.

You must use a minimum of 1 oz of each malt and a minimum of .25 oz of each hop.

You can use brewing salts to treat your water (We will not provide these) and can be added at your discretion.

You can use any techniques you’d like including, but not limited to: decoction mashing, nitro, torpedoing hops, making a yeast starter, and even spontaneous fermentation (but the 004 yeast must still be used).

There are no restrictions on the style of beer you can brew other than what you’re limited to by the ingredients.

On event day, you will be provided 2 wristbands for yourself and a co-brewer or +1. A wristband entitles you to unlimited samples. We will also provide a table, buckets/trash cans (for kegs, if needed), and ice. You will be pouring the beer you brewed and you can set up and market your table however you would like.

Registration opens on Monday, January 9th at 12 pm EST. We are capping the entrants at 24. You can register here. If you’re not ready to submit your recipe, that’s okay. You can always update your response.

Once you are registered you will need to submit your recipe to us (don’t worry, we’re not judging and we won’t share your secrets). Your entry fee must be paid before you can pickup your ingredients. Any entrants who have registered but not paid their entry fee by January 31st will be subject to forfeit their spot in the competition. We will be doing ingredient pickups beginning January 27th. Please let us know a day in advance of pickup so we can ensure your ingredients are as fresh as possible. Especially if you require them to be crushed. The only people filling recipes will be Matt and Adam.